Youth soccer [lower grades get bored and lose focus]: 4 switches for motivation

Hello, this is Coach Kazu.

In practices for lower grades and kindergarteners, I think it is very important how to get the children to engage enthusiastically. That said, in many settings I think there are times when saying "Do it properly" or "Concentrate" does not really change anything.

For example, some of you may feel as follows.

• At practice for lower grades, children get bored right away
• Their concentration does not last, it does not continue
• Fan-type menus get them excited, but when it comes to drill practice they do not do it at all

I myself, in the past, could not coach kindergarteners or 1st and 2nd graders at all. This season, at our club, we are running a soccer class for older kindergarteners twice a week, and I am checking the coaching of the young coaches.

In this article, I will explain why the reactions of children in lower grades and kindergarten show up so directly, the "4 motivation switches" for getting them to engage enthusiastically even in drill practice, and how to think about tempo. If you read this article, I think your view of "they have no concentration" will change, and you will know what to review in tomorrow's practice, so please watch until the end.

1. Because they do not read the room, it shows up directly

The reason coaching kindergarteners and lower grades feels difficult is that the children do not respond to what the coach is doing the way adults do. If it is not fun, they make a face that says it is not fun, and if they are bored, they show a bored sign with all their might. Rather than having no concentration, it feels more like, if something else catches their interest, they go toward that.

By the upper grades of elementary school, they read the room, thinking "I have to listen properly to what the coach says" or "It is not fun, but if I say it is not fun I will get scolded, so I will listen." But kindergarteners and 1st and 2nd graders do not read the coach's circumstances that far.

So I think it is fine to think of them as a mirror for the coach.

2. What happens in practice with a lot of waiting

For example, training with a lot of waiting. If they are upper grades or junior high school students, even if there is a lot of waiting, they do it, thinking "If I talk here I will get scolded, so I will stay quiet." So it looks like they are concentrating. In truth, everyone is bored.

But kindergarteners and 1st graders, when there is a lot of waiting, start chatting there. They start playing in the sand. They get into squabbles with friends, and problems happen. This means that what is not going well in coaching or training is coming to the surface.

In other words, it is not that lower grades are difficult, the same problems are happening in upper grades too. The problem of "there is a lot of waiting and the players are bored" is happening, it is just not coming to the surface. I think this is a very important point.

3. "Upper grades can do it but lower grades cannot" is a lie

I always say that "upper grades can do it but lower grades cannot" is a lie. If upper grades can do it and lower grades cannot, then probably the upper grades cannot do it either.

Coaches who have 10, 15 or 20 years of coaching experience but have not grown probably cannot coach lower grades.

In that sense, doing lower grades or kindergarten now is, I think, a very good chance to polish your own fundamentals as a coach.

2. The "4 motivation switches" for engaging enthusiastically even in drill practice

For fan-type (fun-type) menus, the menu itself is made to be fun, and it also includes soccer elements and coordination elements, so I think there is no problem.

What does not go well is training that leans toward drills, such as 1v1 to shooting, shooting practice, and dribbling practice. I think it is quite common that they get bored right away and do not concentrate at all.

What is important here is the basic knowledge behind coaching techniques. There are techniques that look superficial when I step in and reset things on the field, but they work because they use the characteristics of the children. First "understand the characteristics of children," and then "understand the basics of training." I think it is these two.

As those characteristics, there are 4 elements that draw out children's motivation. This is something I thought "So that's it" when I read a book by Yokomine of the Yokomine Method long ago. It is also written in "The Textbook of 8-a-side Soccer" as "the 4 switches that draw out children's motivation," but I think the original source is probably Yokomine's book first.

1. They want to challenge themselves with something a little difficult

Children want to challenge themselves with something a little difficult, where "if I try hard, I might be able to do it."

This is, I think, the basics of training itself. The difficulty of training is set not at something they can do without trying hard, and not at something they cannot do even if they try extremely hard, but at the line of "if I try a little hard, maybe I can do it."

Even when doing drill training, is the difficulty setting appropriate? Has it not become something they cannot do at all? Are you aiming for the line where they can do it if they try a little hard? This is the first checkpoint.

2. They want to compete

Children want to compete. In the drill training, is there an element of competition? If there is an element of competition, children find it fun and engage enthusiastically.

I found something that made me think "I see" in what Yokomine said. Adults say, "Kids love to run, don't they? They're always running around." But that's not it. If they loved running, they'd just run on their own, but they don't. The point is that they run because they love competition, because running and competing is fun.

Back when I was running a school, I used to do races a lot. I'd set staggered starting lines with handicaps, changing the distance by about three steps. A kid who isn't very fast could get first place, and a fast kid would have to start from the very back and overtake everyone. When you do this, you get "Whoa!" "Yay!" "Darn it!" and it gets incredibly exciting.

It's just running. It's the sprint that we adults least want to do in soccer practice. But when you add competition, kids run like crazy. I've been doing this at my school for years, so it's proven.

③ They want to be recognized

The third is that they want to be recognized. Not praise them, but recognize them. This difference is difficult, but recognizing them with "You did it" is extremely important. This is the realm of coaching.

For example, in the middle of a drill, you stop them with "Stop," and say, "You were really good just now, can you do it in front of everyone?" or "That was really good, show us the example." When you recognize them like this, not only that child but the other children also have the principle of competition kick in, and they start to engage enthusiastically.

④ They want to imitate

The fourth is that they want to imitate. The coach can show a demonstration with full effort, or, like before, say "Stop. Your technique just now was good, show it to everyone," and that child gets recognized. The other kids think, "I'll imitate that." The principle of competition also kicks in: "Damn, I won't lose either." And for themselves, an element of "this is a bit hard for me" gets added.

That's a state where all four are in play. When this happens, the kids engage enthusiastically.

Conversely, with simple pass and control, if you say "Concentrate" or "You won't get better unless you do this," you're not touching any of the motivation switches, so it's not fun. And not being fun means they won't do it.

For upper-grade elementary students or junior high students whose intrinsic motivation is already high, they'll take it as "I want to improve my passing accuracy, so I'll do even simple drills properly." But if lower-grade students aren't at that point yet, you need to set things up through the coach's way of teaching.

Here are some reference books. The original book on the "four switches" I touched on in this article, and a book that introduces it from the soccer side.

Yokomine Yoshifumi, Nihon Bungeisha, October 2009

Naito Kiyoshi, Kanzen, April 2021

① If they get bored in 15 minutes, move on immediately

Does having all four switches in play mean they can do it forever? No, it doesn't. After 10 or 15 minutes, they do get bored.

What matters then is a sense of tempo. Even with 15 minutes of ball feeling training, once they start getting bored, move right on to the next theme, the next progression. This applies both to the sense of tempo within a single training activity and to the sense of tempo between training activities.

② One buffer moment after "OK, line up"

This happened yesterday in the older kindergarten class. A young coach I work with tried to start with coordination work, had them line up in a row, and did dynamic stretches like skipping and running backwards. And it dragged.

Watching from outside, I was thinking, "Why didn't he get them moving the moment he said 'OK, line up'?" By putting a buffer moment there, the kids' concentration was broken. I watched for about three minutes and said, "Let me switch in for a bit. I'll do it, so watch," and they engage like crazy.

It's not "They get bored, so it's no good." You devise ways to keep them from getting bored. Even with devices, there's a limit, so with the premise that their concentration doesn't last as long as adults', you change the tempo and move things along, bam bam bam bam. I think this is extremely important.

③ Kids don't lack concentration, theirs is just short

I read this in a book long ago too, but kids don't lack concentration. They have tremendous concentration, but the amount of time they can concentrate is short.

How do you turn this to your advantage and move things forward? If you feel "Lower grades aren't going well" or "They get bored right away," I'd like you to review things from these four switches and the sense of tempo.

① Being put in charge of lower grades is a chance

When you're a young coach or just starting out, I think you're often told, "Do the lower grades." Surprisingly, even main coaches are often not good with lower grades.

I too was once completely unable to handle kindergarteners or first and second graders. But at some point I became able to, and since then I've come to feel it's "fun."

Designing training by considering the characteristics of each age group, and mastering the basics of training. This doesn't change whether it's upper grades or junior high students. That's exactly why doing lower grades makes it glaringly obvious whether you have the basics of coaching down.

② After reading a book, output it in the field

Read books, attend seminars, watch videos. It is not about putting that in and stopping there, but about trying it out on the field and testing what works and what does not. What you do while breaking a cold sweat on the field becomes your own skill.

It is hard, but I think if you do it, you will become able to do it. If you are currently struggling with younger age groups or kindergarten, please do your best and give it a try.

5. Summary

• Younger age groups and kindergarten are a mirror for coaches. It is just that what is not going well surfaces, and the same problems are happening in older age groups too
• "Older age groups can do it but younger age groups cannot" is a lie. Younger age groups are a chance to polish your own fundamentals
• Even in drill practice, they do it eagerly: the "four switches of motivation" = wanting to try something a little difficult, wanting to compete, wanting to be recognized, wanting to imitate
• Even if you include all four, it will not last forever. When they start to get bored, the sense of tempo to move on to the next thing right away is important
• Children do not lack concentration, they are just short. Use that to your advantage and proceed

In this article, I explained the way of thinking for when younger age groups or kindergarten get bored with practice or do not concentrate, and the four switches of motivation. First, in tomorrow's practice, review just two things: "Is the difficulty appropriate?" and "Is there an element of competition?" I think that is enough to start. Please try it at your own coaching site too!